Freshwater Action Network eBulletin - June 2011
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We’re experimenting with a new format for FAN eBulletins to make them more engaging and to help our members with slower internet connections. In this June 2011 issue, you can read a summarised version of each story by scrolling to the bottom of the email as well as following the links through to the full stories online. FAN Global Governing Council develop roadmap towards independence AfricaSan 2011 briefing CSD 19 fails to end in negotiated agreement Update on activities from FAN Central America
'Caravan of water' raises awareness on water issues in Mexico Civil society calls echo throughout Ministerial declaration at SACOSAN IV
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FAN Global Governing Council develop roadmap towards independence Representatives from the five regional networks – FAN Central America (FANCA), FAN South Asia (FANSA), FAN Mexico (FAN-Mex), African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW) and FAN South America (FANAS) and the secretariat, which make up FAN Global, began by updating each other around their activities. The facilitated discussions which followed enabled them to frankly share expectations, understand challenges and visualise a prospective future for FAN Global. Despite some initial apprehensions about how an independent FAN Global could function, as the group began to assert the difference that FAN’s work has brought to communities, we were able to imagine a realistic future. With a renewed feeling of global solidarity, we began exploring possibilities of new collaborations and partnerships. FAN Global Governing Council agreed they possess the collective confidence to take up the challenge of an independent network. They all believe that FAN Global has unique added value as the only global, bottom-up platform to voice the issues from the local to the global level, linking the environmental and developmental agendas. Once this decision was made, they were able to reimage FAN Global, with new ways of working and the regional networks sharing responsibilities. They aim to build on the legacy of ten years of success. A committed and passionate leadership team agree to take joint responsibility and ownership over the transitional process to July 2012 and beyond... The third African Conference on Sanitation Hygiene will be held on 19-21 July 2011 in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. What is AfricaSan? How will ANEW take part?
A half day dialogue will be held on 21 July 2011 to finalize and agree on the commitments, which will be presented to the closed session of the ministers for endorsement and action. The session will contribute to the main conference objectives and will align itself with the 5-year Drive for Sanitation. CSD 19 fails to end in negotiated agreement There are proving to be many challenges including a lack of political commitment towards concept of a green economy, reports Rubens Born of the 19th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 19) convened from 2-14 May 2011, at UN Headquarters in New York. The meeting failed to adopt a negotiated outcome and put the whole CSD process into question. An illuminating write up of the meeting produced by International Institute for Sustainable Development concluded: "The question now on many people’s minds is how the CSD 19 disaster might affect the preparatory process for Rio+20. Some say it has highlighted the difficulties in handling Rio’s ambitious agenda. One delegate noted, 'What happened at CSD 19 might serve as a wake-up call for those involved in the Rio+20 process.'" On a more positive note, Stakeholder Forum’s analysis emphasises that there was considerable consensus on every single item on the table by the end of the week and that, "The only question on which countries could not agree was whether they would honour their own words, and whether the decision could include, explicitly and prominently, language from their own earlier agreements." Update on activities from FAN Central America Governance and Transparency Fund Political advocacy Communications Exploring funding opportunities 'Caravan of water' raises awareness on water issues in Mexico 'Caravan of water' is a touring convoy of artistic activities and workshops raising awareness of water issues among communities. The event aims to mobilise them into demanding solutions from the authorities and support the River Basin Commission Amecameca to implement the Hydrological Plan. For the past year, in partnership with several communities in Mexico City as well as other organizations and local authorities, FANMex member Guardianes de los Volcanes has been gathering proposals for restoring the Amecameca and La Compañía river watersheds. The work was presented in a book called Rethinking The Watershed and is a consensus on the problems and solutions. These ideas led to formation of Amecameca’s Hydrologic Plan which was recently adopted as a tool for outlining strategies, priorities and policies to achieve a balance of regional sustainable development and integrated resource management. Civil society calls echo throughout Ministerial declaration at SACOSAN IV On Wednesday 6 April 2011, members of FAN South Asia, along with coalition partners WaterAid, WSSCC and CEJ, welcomed the Colombo Declaration which outlined ministerial commitments made in the SACOSAN-IV. The declaration reflected many of our calls, demonstrating the value of our intensive work up to and during SACOSAN-IV. We hope that the commitments of our Governments in South Asia will generate the required momentum for accelerated progress on sanitation and hygiene. Murali Ramisetty, Regional Convenor for FANSA highlighted the importance of next steps: "We are pleased to see that it reflects much of the declaration of the Pre-SACOSAN-IV consultation meeting of CSOs. However, good follow-up is essential to ensure that it gets translated into concrete change in people's lives." For our part, the Coalition partners committed to monitoring commitments and will begin by widely disseminating and informing people, community leaders, local bodies and other stakeholders about the conference outcome. Read the full story online
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